Kukurmara, located about 25 km from Guwahati, is the confluence of two rivers - Kulsi and Kuiya - and is thus an ideal habitat for the river dolphins, which prefer deep waters in and around the confluence of two or more rivers.

A unique conservation scenario emerged in Kukurmara in 1991 to make this small area on Guwahati's outskirts a safe haven for the endangered Gangetic river dolphin, or xihu, as it is called in Assamese.

In 1991, a resident of the area had allegedly killed a dolphin in the Kulsi and upon returning home, he found his son dead under mysterious circumstances. The news had spread like wildfire and since then, the area had become a safe haven for the Gangetic dolphin - a species listed in the IUCN red list and Schedule I of India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Till today, the residents, who are mostly fishermen or sand miners, believe that if anyone kills a xihu, he will lose a family member, and hence, take utmost care to never harm the blind aquatic mammals.

Three years ago, the Rs.30 lakh project, titled "Promoting Conservation: Saving the Gangetic dolphins, Creating Livelihoods, Eco-tourism", was launched with funding from the Ford Foundation. Bhaskar Jyoti Saud, who is in charge of the project, tells India Together that the results have been positive - ensuring alternative livelihood opportunities to the community while alongside spreading the message of saving the river dolphin and its habitats has produced results. The project was aimed at stabilising the dolphin population of the Brahmaputra River by analyzing threats to this highly endangered aquatic creature. Besides Dhubri, CNES identified two other dolphin-breeding locations - Kukurmara in Kamrup district, where the river Kulsi meets the Brahmaputra, and Guijan in Tinsukia district.

The Gangetic river dolphin (platanista Gangetica) is primarily an inhabitant of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems of India and Bangladesh. At present, there are less than 2,000 dolphins across the world. Of these, 30 swim around at the confluence in Kukurmara.

The Gangetic dolphins are blind, but the loss of vision is compensated by their highly developed sonar sense. They catch their prey by a process called echolocation. They emit an ultrasonic sound and by processing the reflected sound wave, they can judge the size and location of their prey. They navigate through water using the same process